Berserker King
The Berserker King is the first boss fought in Etrian Odyssey IV. It is encountered on B3F of the Lush Woodlands. Berserker King (Etrian Odyssey IV) The Berserker King is a magnificent beast who lives up to his name. There's no inherent trickery or hidden powers behind his moves. It's very straightforward and to the point, which often means hitting your face. The Berserker King is, as his name implies, the patriarch of the Lush Woodlands, and has the physique and power to back it up. He attacks with a strong variety of highly powerful moves. He is beatable with party around level 15, though leveling some more first is a sound strategy if you aren't confident in your party's strength. Strategy When you pass through the doors leading to the Berserker King for the first time, there will also be two Bloodbears in the room with him. It is strongly recommended that you do not attempt to fight him head on, as the two Bloodbears will come to his aid and will probably make the fight impossible to finish without massive over-leveling. Instead, head to the South-Eastern corner of room where there is a honey-scented log. Lure the Bloodbear to it and then proceed through the path he created. Following the path will lead you to come back into the Berserker's room, but this time, you're right behind him. Heading west a short way will allow you to unlock a shortcut to return to this point much easier. Starting the battle from behind him prevents the Bloodbear from joining, and also gives you a preemptive strike. If you so desire, you can also just beat the Bloodbears individually so that they don't interfere, but that sort of destroys the point of avoiding the need to fight them. The Berserker King has a wide array of powerful moves. The best way to avoid them is to draw the hits into a Fortress, land an Arm Bind status with a Sniper, or Blind him with a Nightseeker. For pure damage against him use either the Landsknecht's Link skills or the Runemaster's damaging spells, as he's very weak to elemental damage. The Runemaster and Landsknecht actually synergize incredibly well for this fight, as the basic runes allow both characters to exploit his weakness to even greater effect. Occasionally, the Berserker King will raise its arms and begin charging for an attack. He will not attack during the two turns he is charging, so focus on an all-out offense. If you manage to deal a significant amount of damage to him he will lose his focus and be stunned for the turn. (It's possible that he spends the entire battle doing this, making for a potentially very easy fight, but do not count on this too much to win.) After losing the focus, Berserker King will use Counter on his next turn, so do not attack him with physical attacks unless his arms are bound. When his health is low he will go into a rage and his strength will increase. It's easy to get caught off guard by this and lose, so be prepared. Keep your health up and defend when necessary. Skills *'Binding Voice' (Uses Head): Ranged untyped attack to the entire party, may stun. *'Ruinous Strike' (Uses Arms): Slow melee cut attack to a row. *'Rock Crusher' (Uses Arms): Melee bash attack to the entire party, may blind. *'Counter' (Uses Arms): Retaliates with a physical attack when struck. *'Arm Breaker' (Uses Arms): Strong bash attack to a single target, may bind arms. *'Delay Charge' (Uses None): Telegraphs Berserker Rage 2 turns later. Can be interrupted if it takes over 400 damage during this time period. *'Berserker Rage' (Uses Arms): 3-5 strong melee cut attacks across different targets. Used only if Delay Charge goes uninterrupted. Drops *'Berserker Claw '(Worth:' '''418 en) *None. *'Berserker Skin''' (Worth: 10000 en) **Selling the Berserker Skin unlocks the Mythic Nithsdale, a Runemaster specific cloth armor with relatively high defense. Conditional Drop *To obtain the Berserker Skin, you have to defeat the Berserker King on the first turn. Related Monsters * Cutter * Bloodbear * Desouler Berserker King (Etrian Odyssey Nexus) The Berserker King reappears with the Lush Woodlands, serving as the main threat alluded to as the player ventures throughout that dungeon. As they approach the stairway to B3F of the Lush Woodlands, they encounter several soldiers who have been mauled by a large bear-like creature. Veterans who have played IV will expect the Bloodbear to be a prime suspect, and enter B3F thinking they will engage it before the Berserker King makes its presence. No such luck. Less than 10 steps into the floor, and the Berserker King gets the drop on the party! This is a scripted ambush that may cause the demise of a party in less than perfect shape. Be sure to have rested well before going too deep into B3F. The Berserker King is fought at half health at this stage in the game. After fighting it off, the party discovers there are multiple Berserker Kings. The few they have engaged are dispatched, but one more exists at the end of the floor. Travel that far, and the party will then fight the Berserker King at its fullest. It is guarded by a pair of Cutters which impede the player's path, but by properly luring them to destroy the tree trunks in the room, a safe path to the King can be cleared out. Barring the initial ambush at the start of B3F, the Berserker King will always start the battle with Binding Voice. As Wiglaf advises, it's best to have the whole party defend during this first turn to minimize the damage from this. Throughout the fight, it will attack with either its basic attack or Ruinous Claw which hits a line. As its HP decreases to 90%, it will begin Charging - this indicates it will follow suit with Berserker Rage, which does 3-5 random cut attacks across the party. Following that, it will use Berserk, which applies an attack buff to it and stagger the pattern. For as long as Berserk is in effect, it will only restrict itself to normal attacks, but the moment it wears off or is cancelled it will revert to its usual attack pattern. The Berserker King will randomly choose between its normal attack or one of its skills for two turns before Charging again. As it falls to 70% and 50% HP, it will immediately switch patterns, again indicated by Charge, Berserker Rage, and Berserk in that order. The new pattern will include one of its new skills. At 70% it adds Arm Break which induces arm bind, and at 50% it includes Rock Crusher which hits the whole party and can inflict blind. Arm bind and Blind are your best bets at damage mitigation here - arm bind is more favored as it will negate all its offensive potential, but the Berserker King is more vulnerable to Blind. Carry some attack debuffs to negate its own buff, and maybe even apply it to this boss to blunt a lot of its offense. After its defeat, you're not in the clear yet. Cernunnos appears as the real stratum boss for the Nexus version of the Lush Woodlands. Fortunately, Wiglaf appears to fully heal your party and you get a save prompt before fighting it. Skills *'Binding Voice' (Uses Head): Ranged untyped attack to the entire party, may stun. *'Ruinous Strike' (Uses Arms): Slow melee cut attack to a row. *'Rock Crusher' (Uses Arms): Melee bash attack to the entire party, may blind. *'Arm Breaker' (Uses Arms): Strong bash attack to a single target, may bind arms. *'Charge' (Uses None): Charges for Berserker Rage next turn. *'Berserker Rage' (Uses Arms): 3-5 strong melee cut attacks across different targets. *'Berserk' (Uses Head): Physical ATK boost for 3 turns. Category:Etrian Odyssey IV Bosses Category:Etrian Odyssey IV Monsters Category:Etrian Odyssey IV Category:Etrian Odyssey Nexus Monsters Category:Etrian Odyssey Nexus Bosses